Great Wolf--Anyone been?

[torinsmom]

I am thinking of taking my son to the Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg. Its got an indoor water park. Just wondering if anyone has been and how you liked it? I found a great rate of $164/night.

Marsha

 

[crazyme5kids]

We loved it!

 

[Annette_VA]

We've been several times and have a blast every time we go.

The only thing I'd warn you against is the restaurants w/in the Lodge. They've gone down hill. We prefer to eat off-site. Although, we did do breakfast there last month & it wasn't too bad, just expensive.

The Howling Tornado is "open" now, but when we were there a couple of weeks ago, we found it to be more closed than open. They were working on part of the tunnel, so maybe it's fixed by now. It is really cold over by the Tornado exit & the left side of the wave pool because they're doing construction and only have a tarp up.

Something new they're offering is cabanas. There are 3 of them in the indoor water park now. They're $99 for the day. My dh surprised my family & got us one. It really was so nice! There's a fridge in it & they stock it w/ drinks for you, there's a ceiling fan, the lifeguards do towel service, you get some trivial stuff like a newspaper & a deck of cards, you have 2 chaise lounges, a table, and four chairs and a huge bookshelf like area for storage. That came in very handy because we had the cabana on check-out day, so we had a place to stash all our stuff w/o having to cram it all in a locker. While we were sitting there, some guys came by to hook up cable because they were getting ready to add TVs to the cabanas.

It really is a fun place. There's something for everyone

 

[torinsmom]

Thanks! Sounds really neat! We will probably eat off site, except maybe the breakfast buffet. You can't really mess up breakfast. We plan on getting there by 10am, playing in the water park, then checking in and playing more. I am assuming you can go to the water park after you check out on check out day? Not sure what else we'll do while we're in the area.......

Marsha

 

[PixiePop]

We loved it when we went too...it was before all of the new stuff they added.

I would have to agree about the food at the Lodge...not good.


I hope you have a great time.

 

[dimimi]

We realy enjoy the great wolf lodge's. We have never really liked the food, but it's OK. I can't tell how old your child is, but you have to really watch them...it sounds silly, but there is water everywhere! When our youngest was little, we realy had to watch him in the lazy river, if it is crowded, they can get stuck under the tubes...probably wouldn't ever happened, but made me nervous. We also liked the game room. I love the idea of getting a cabana for your checkout day.

 

[torinsmom]

My son is 12, so he's pretty self sufficient.

Marsha

 

[jama]

We loved it in Oct. We thought the food was good. They also added an interactive game called MagiQuest. It was very fun!! Be prepared to run all over the hotel in the game! Also weekends are alot more crowded than weekdays. On weekdays there was hardly anyone in the waterpark.

 

[Annette_VA]

Thanks! Sounds really neat! We will probably eat off site, except maybe the breakfast buffet. You can't really mess up breakfast. We plan on getting there by 10am, playing in the water park, then checking in and playing more. I am assuming you can go to the water park after you check out on check out day? Not sure what else we'll do while we're in the area.......

Marsha

You can use the waterpark starting at 1pm on the day you check in. On check out day, you can stay all day until the park closes at 10pm

 

[torinsmom]

So, is the 1pm set in stone? If so, I guess we should delay arriving until then.

Marsha

 

[4nana]

Our adult children invited us to GWL in WB for last Father's Day weekend. It was a blast for our family from ages 2 -70yo and we enjoyed everything from the baby pool to the hot tubs inside, to the pools outside!! We had the Kiddie Cabins and the rooms had a neat cabin area set up for the kids w/bunk beds incl TV. Our room also had a kitchenette and F Place. We also felt their food left much to be desired, but there are near by places to eat if you so desire. They do have a nice little bakery where we purchased chocolate covered strawberries for Father's Day treats. You can't go wrong with that great rate, from what I saw our rooms were more than twice that. I've enclosed a few pics, if they work. PS - your DS is really a cutie!!

Lodge Fort

Wavepool

Kiddie pool

Tube ride

Kiddie cabin suite

Kiddie beds

 

[Annette_VA]

So, is the 1pm set in stone? If so, I guess we should delay arriving until then.

Marsha

Yep, that's the "rule"

Now, whether they'll bend it or not, I do not know. We live 45 minutes away, so we always just plan it so we arrive right at 1pm.

 

[torinsmom]

Our adult children invited us to GWL in WB for last Father's Day weekend. It was a blast for our family from ages 2 -70yo and we enjoyed everything from the baby pool to the hot tubs inside, to the pools outside!! We had the Kiddie Cabins and the rooms had a neat cabin area set up for the kids w/bunk beds incl TV. Our room also had a kitchenette and F Place. We also felt their food left much to be desired, but there are near by places to eat if you so desire. They do have a nice little bakery where we purchased chocolate covered strawberries for Father's Day treats. You can't go wrong with that great rate, from what I saw our rooms were more than twice that. I've enclosed a few pics, if they work. PS - your DS is really a cutie!!

Thanks for the pics! Looks really neat. The room that is $164 is a regular suite without a balcony
but its just DS12 and me, so that will be plenty big. Oh and thanks for the compliments on my son. I think he's cute too, LOL. By the way, the little one in your sig is one precious little guy as well.

Marsha

 

[aprilgail2]

We were just there this week and can't wait to go back! I spent a lot of time in the hot tub while my 7 year old was on the water slides with her friend. When we were checking out there were people already checking in (10am) and getting their rooms already. I was talking to one that goes there often and they told me that if you wait until noon time you won't get a room until after 4 which is what happened to us) but if you get there very early they give out the rooms already cleaned to the early people.
My daughter and her friend loved the Magi Quest thing. They were running all over the place getting their clues and racking up points. When i first saw it I was like"ok. 15 for a wand then they can play the game, not a bad price" but then you have to add on the 10 to play a game to that. Of course she wanted one of the wand toppers, another 14.00. But they had a lot of fun with it. We ran out of time before she could finish her quest (each one take 4-6 hours) but it gives us an excuse to stay longer next time!

 

[4nana]

Thanks for the pics! Looks really neat. The room that is $164 is a regular suite without a balcony
but its just DS12 and me, so that will be plenty big. Oh and thanks for the compliments on my son. I think he's cute too, LOL. By the way, the little one in your sig is one precious little guy as well.

Marsha

You're welcome Marsha! You and your DS are going to have a blast, those few pics don't do the place justice!

Thx, the little guy is our sweet little GS we were blessed to have visit for Christmas!

 

[Mickeyluver37]

So, is the 1pm set in stone? If so, I guess we should delay arriving until then.

Marsha

I have heard this from several people, but when we went, we got there at 9 am and were given our wristbands upon check in (Poconos). The waterpark wasn't even open yet, and our room was ready. Friends of ours had heard the same thing, and I told them I thought it was just a rumor, so they went early and also got their wristbands upon check in (Williamsburg). It seems like it would be a hassle to have people go back and get in line to get their wristbands when it's your room key, your waterpark admission, and your "credit" card. Evidentally it's not just a rumor if so many people have heard it, but I know it's not always enforced!

And also, we thought the food was good! Did Pizza Hut for dinnner (and bought a full size birthday cake), Starbucks for breakfast (I don't think Williamsburg has a full Starbucks though) and the buffet there for lunch- which was all really good.

 

[themarquis]

that is so weird ... just a couple hours ago GF and I were talking about taking a trip to the one in Sandusky, OH. I didn't even know they existed until earlier today!!

Thanks for all the info, everyone -- it really looks fun. We found a great rate of 99 dollars (they're only doing that rate for like 3 wednesdays or something) and a rate of something like 120 during the week if we're not able to go on one of those wednesdays (you should check out the pepsi promotion if you haven't already -- I think it gives you 50 or 75 dollars off or something).

Torinsmom, your DS and kitty look like great friends! What an adorable pic!

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

We were at the GWL in Mason Ohio over NYE weekend. It was great~!. My kids (8 and 3) keep asking to go back. You and your son will love it there.


BTW, the GWL in Sandusky is siginficantly smaller than most of the GWL. We didn't stay there but visited it when we were at Kalahari last year. It's about 1/2 the size of Kalahari and the GWL in Mason.

 

[torinsmom]

that is so weird ... just a couple hours ago GF and I were talking about taking a trip to the one in Sandusky, OH. I didn't even know they existed until earlier today!!

Thanks for all the info, everyone -- it really looks fun. We found a great rate of 99 dollars (they're only doing that rate for like 3 wednesdays or something) and a rate of something like 120 during the week if we're not able to go on one of those wednesdays (you should check out the pepsi promotion if you haven't already -- I think it gives you 50 or 75 dollars off or something).

Torinsmom, your DS and kitty look like great friends! What an adorable pic!

How do you find out about the pepsi promotion?

Yes. Torin(DS) and Pharaoh(Bengal) are best buddies. Pharaoh climbs the ladder to DS's loft bed every night and sleeps curled up next to him!

Marsha

 

[jennyL]

Oh I'm going on March 2nd for the weekend. We went a couple years ago and had the best time. We are taking more people this time so it should be a blast. We'll have to check out the cabanas they sound really neat.